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The Model for the Messianic Community
What the First Century Messianic Community Looked Like
and Why We Should Look the
Same Today
What did Messiah Yeshua expect His Body and Bride to look like,
and how close have we come to His expectations?
by
Rickard L. Sawyer
ThM, ThD, DMin, MA, MBA, ND
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A copy of this entire document is available for downloading in Adobe PDF format. You will need to have a recent version of Adobe Reader (or compatible pdf reader) to open this file. Please remember that this is still a working draft with considerable work left to do.
Download the
latest version as of September 18,
2026
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This is the current status
of my current long-term writing project, which I hope to be able to publish whenever
it gets done to my satisfaction. It has undergone ten major re-writes and numerous additional revisions so far,
and I anticipate there will be numerous additional changes before I feel that it is
ready to publish. It is not my desire to argue with anyone on this subject, nor is it my desire
to cast any kind of undue criticism, unkindness, or disparagement upon Gentile
Christianity, to coerce Gentile Believers into embracing Messianic Judaism, or to place Gentile Believers under
any form of “legalism.” My only intent is to present an historical perspective on the Body
of Messiah which I believe is a reasonable alternative to the perspective which I taught for over
35 years as a Baptist pastor.
The Model for the Messianic Community: What the First Century Messianic Community Looked Like and Why We Should Look the Same Today
By Rickard L. Sawyer
ThM, ThD, DMin, MA, MBA, ND
Unless otherwise indicated, or when annotated (CJB), scripture quotations are from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.
Scripture quotations annotated (NAS) are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.
This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
Published by The Center for Messianic Learning
344B Murphytown Circle, Davisville, WV 26142-8941
(304) 494-9957 • www.MessianicLearning.org
About the Author • Contact the author
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. First Things First
Chapter 2. Preliminary Concepts
Chapter 3. Modern “Messianic Judaism”
Chapter 4. Judaism in the Late Second Temple Period
Chapter 5. The Appearance of Yeshua
Chapter 6. The Giving of Ruach HaKodesh
Chapter 7. Shabbat or “the Lord’s Day”?
Chapter 8. Rabbi Sha’ul of Tarsus
Chapter 9. The Jerusalem Council
Chapter 10. “Christian” or “Messianic?”
Chapter 11. The Synagogue from 70 to 325 CE
Chapter 12. Where Did the Word “Church” Come From?
Chapter 13. Summary and Conclusions
Appendices
AAppendix A. Tisha b’Av and 17 Tammuz
Appendix B. Evidences for a Hebrew Source of the Apostolic Scriptures
Appendix C. Scholars Who Support a Hebrew Origin for the Apostolic Scriptures
Appendix D. The Bar-Kochba Revolt
Appendix E. Canons from Nicaea 1, 325
Appendix F: Anti-Semitic Decrees of Constantine and His Successors, High Priests of the Babylon Mystery Religion in Rome
Appendix G. A Brief Overview of Replacement Theology
Appendix H. Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust
Appendix I. What is Truth?
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ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN,
SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!
